Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-04-17
HUNGRY CUSTOMERS.
AN ANNOYANCE TO WHICH SOME
TRADESMEN ARE SUBJECTED.

Continual Pilferins from tho Grocers'
Exposed Packages Of Fruits. Candies
and Nuts-Hard to Draw the Line
One Mans Plan.
"One Of the petty nuisances we have to
suffer in our limo of business, said 4 u obasn
avenue grocer, sis the continual plfeTlnGSs
from our counters from exposed packages OF
fruits, candies, nuts, etc, which our busl-
ness compel us to display TO make them at
tractive. Now SEQ that old man with his
daughter coming in at the door. Lie Is q
regular customer and comes in almost every
evening See! no sooner does he get
through the door than out goes lis hand for
small bunch Of grapes. There IS nothing
sr.-reptitious in the act or his part, as you
viii notice. he evidently thinks 10 does
nothing wrong and unconsciously helps HIM
self to q small handful Of some enticing NOR
sci which his palate takes fancy to almost
every evening, as you see ho has just done
Like father like SOM VIII apply to the
daughter also for there goes the young lady,
who is waiting for her father to mako his
evening purchases, making bee limo for the
candy counter, a small bit from one tray and
dip into another until tho entire circuit OF
the store is made It is true that what they
have eaten is Of small value, but during
whole DAY, with the hundreds Of customers
we have going in and out, tho aggregate
amount Of cur losses il this very Same way
is much larger than you would suppose.
81 stand in this part of the store, y said
one of tho salesrlen, "the entire day and
have the very best opportunity for Observing
people who lunch, as VIC term it. III give
YOU an instance of how severely We suffer at
times from these seemingly unconscious as
similations, politely speaking. One day last
week, after being more than usually annoyed
at the liberty taken in this by way an elderly
woman with every appearance of refinement
and responsibility, l resolved to test the mat
ter of these losses to my employer by placing
a five pound box of Tokay grapes where
every one coming in end going out must pass
them. This l cid in the morning as soon as
the store was opened, and by ) O'Clock in
the afternoon, 1 give you rly word OF honor,
there was not single grape in that boxl
HARD TO DRAW THE LINE.
81 went TO our manager and told him OF
nv experience, and he gave strict instruc-
tions to call the attention Of any one who
was seen taking such liberties TO the fact
that the goods were exposed for sale, and
were not samples for gratuitous distribution,
as they seemed to think. We were also
given to understand that If we did this re-
spectfullv our condN6 would meet with the
support and encouragement OF the proprle-
tor. Still, with these rules we must draw
the line somewhere, and it is hard to tell
Just where 10 do 50; wo have customers
4, nd va
to speal, to them Of such an action as a
liberty taken, and even in the most respect
full manner reprove them they would be
offended beyond our ability to explain the
reason Of our doing 80 and we should certain
ly lose their trade and their good will for
evern
At another store, where the counters are
ornamented in profusion with delicacies In
and out Of season, pretty much the same COM
plant was made although no instructions
had been given statesmen to lessen the an
noyance. This proprietor smiled dryly in
conversing with reporter on the topic and
finally said: lone of my experiences with
the lunch business, as we call it, was at our
cracker and cheese counter. For a long
time we had our dairy department in an out
of the way place in the store, and near by
were the cracker boxes and barrels. On sew
eral OCCASIONS during the middle OF the day !
had frequently stood almost directly over
this spot and could easily see the movements
of every one in the store Now 1t might
sound absurd for me to say that q business
man and neighbor would come into my place
AMI 60 directly to that cheese counter and
cracker barrel and ZIP himself 10 q midday
lunch, but it is fact nevertheless.
PUT STOP TO IT.
"And not only did ono man DO it, but
DURING tho course OF weclI when | was in
terested in tbs cheel1ine-s OF tho liberty
taken with my goods beyond my I>ecuniary
loss therefrcm, / watched that particular
locality moro closely than usual. Believe
me saw no less than five men como to that
counter and help themselves every day until
put stop to it by moving these articles to
O. her places whers by different arrange
n,ent this spongina could not DO continued
without being downright theft. Well it
would have been worth q weeks salary to
you to have watched that counter with me
the following day They came in Tnsly and
BY peirp shortly after 10 O'Clock and on
reaching their accustomed haunss loo'i OF
blank astonishruont was depicted on their
CONTINGENCIES ~ Lis iutbdIAOi Rltr's VA
particular spot. ! vas almost afraid it
w0;ld bs ncoess,rE to talso their ante NOR
tenn s;&ta.neus before they could leave ny
gtore-
''Do you have any ether similar annoy
saCas in your business" was asked.
Wei VS. there is one other, bu: it is far
more serious, and l hardly should speak OF
K. Our system OF cash sales requires the
purchaser to pay for his articles at a cashier )
desk on going out. We have, in sorle cases,
caught people trying 10 leave the store with
C;.t r2t5ling, but il Goes not occur very fre-
Quently, as ot:r salcsInsn are made respcnsi-
bio for toar chootcs and IL is their duty TO
40 the. ahccks sre presented T. tho cashisr
for p, y7,,sus, but OF course during tbs busy
hours o. tn. Gay this is impossible. Business
Is very good With us just now and win be
until after the holidays, ''-ChicaSo Tribune.
Tho 1swspaper Nan Ahead.
Recently in box at Drury Lane WERE
Prince Alexander OF Bulgaria with his
brother. HenrX the proud and happy father,